Well Sherlock?

OK, so your horse is not going as well as it has been - what have you changed:

- the grass
- his hard food
- his level of fitness
- his girth

Which one of these would be easiest to test first - ah, that would be his girth, wouldn't it?  So in spite of the fact that a gradual increase in behaviour problems does not point to a girth problem, which I would expect to be sudden in onset, I changed him back to a normal curved girth from the WOW H girth:

http://www.flair.uk.com/wow/wowaccessories.htm

I had been using this girth because at the moment the top of Ace's back is narrow (though he is a wide fit at the wither!) and saddles of all types are quite unstable on him. They rock about and it feels quite precarious. With the H girth the saddle is much more stable.  I bought it for Jazz, to stop his saddle moving forwards and it works a treat.

He was different to girth up, he did not flick his tail or lift a hind leg as he has been doing. He was different immediately he walked off, with no attempt to trot until I asked him to and no attempt to canter from trot until I asked  him to. He kicked out only once, half way down the long side when he was already in canter, not on the transition. He seemed immediately to have wondered why he bothered and did not do it again. We had several short, quiet canters on each rein.

I do so hope this is the answer, it is so easy! If it is, doesn't it go to show what a lovely boy he is, when the girth was either annoying or actually hurting him, but all he did was  kick out a leg and be reluctant to turn? His behaviour change could be because he was tired from yesterday, but he did seem quite different mentally today, much more relaxed than he has been lately. Fingers crossed, eh??  I made up my mind when we bought him to ALWAYS give him the benefit of the doubt, and so far that has paid off in spades.

I have also just had the most fantatic hack on Jazz, who was, dare I say it, no different whatsoever from a NORMAL horse. My golly gosh, how can this be?!?!!?!  For the first time this year we went up to the top of the neighbour's hill, in absolutely brilliant sunshine and a gentle breeze. We did a string of changes almost on a straight line on a bumpy field with no canter warm-up, and then we went for a gallop, which he absolutely threw himself into and went flat out!  For a moment I thought I had misjudged his fitness and he was not going to run out of breath at the top of the field, but carry on and jump the wall. Just in time, he flagged and slowed up :-)  He did not even spook at a long row of sheep feeders that he has never seen before - is he sick?

What a glorious day!

C